Personal computers (PCs) are used extensively in many scientific, business, government, entertainment and other types of applications. The computing power of PCs, whether coupled to a network or operating as a stand-alone device, continually increases as faster, more powerful central processing units (CPUs) are produced. Additionally, the capacity and speed of memory devices, disk drives, compact disk read-only memories and other components have also increased. As CPUs become faster and more powerful, they also produce more heat than earlier generations of slower processors. Therefore, more powerful PCs with Pentium.RTM. or Pentium II.RTM. processors generally have active cooling systems to dissipate heat from the CPUs.
Conventional active cooling systems in computers are typically fans or thermoelectric heat pumps that draw heat away from the CPUs. FIG. 1A, for example, is a schematic top plan view of an interior portion of an existing desk-top computer 10a with a housing 12a having a plurality of panels. The housing 12a typically has a front panel 14a, a rear panel 15a, side panels 16a and a bottom panel 18. The computer 10a also has a motherboard 20a proximate to the rear panel 15a, a plurality of drive bays 30 proximate to the front panel 14a, and a power supply unit 40 mounted to the rear panel 15a. The motherboard 20a is a printed circuit assembly for operatively interconnecting arrays of plug-in electronic modules and other components. The motherboard 20a typically carries a flat-mounted CPU 22 proximate to an aperture 19 in the rear panel 15a, a plurality of memory modules 24 near the CPU 22, a plurality of card slots 26 near the memory modules 24 and several other components. Typical flat-mounted CPUs are the Pentium.RTM. or "86" series processors manufactured by Intel Corporation of Calif. To dissipate heat from the CPU 22, a fan 50 may be attached to the rear panel 15a at the aperture 19 to blow an air-stream across a heat exchanger 23 of the CPU 22. Alternatively, the fan 50 may be attached directly to the CPU 22 (not shown).
FIG. 1B is a schematic side elevational view of an existing tower computer 10b with a tower housing 12b. In this embodiment, a motherboard 20b is attached to the housing 12b at a rear panel 15b, the drive bays 30 are attached to the housing 12b at a top panel 17, and the power supply unit 40 is attached to the rear panel 15b proximate to the CPU 22. Again, the CPU 22 is a Pentium.RTM. processor or other type of flat-mounted unit. In this embodiment, the fan 50 is attached to the power supply unit 40 adjacent to the heat exchanger 23 to drive an air-stream across the heat exchanger 23.
Because computer designs continually change, one manufacturing concern in assembling computers is the cost to implement a new device. Several prominent computer manufacturers are custom order manufacturers that individually assemble each computer to a specific order. Custom order manufacturers accordingly maintain large inventories of CPUs, motherboards, memory modules, drives, power supply units and other individual components to quickly assemble the individual computers. However, when a new or upgraded version of a component is implemented, it may not be physically compatible with the other components in the inventory. As such, if a new, incompatible component is critical to being competitive, custom computer manufacturers may need to replace many existing components in their inventory to accommodate the new component.
One particularly important new component in the computer industry is the Pentium II.RTM. CPU manufactured by Intel Corporation. Referring again to FIG. 1B, a Pentium II CPU 122 is shown in phantom where it would be located in the tower housing 12b. The Pentium II CPU 122 is a single-edge-contact processor that projects away from the motherboard, and the Pentium II CPU 122 has a heat exchanger 123 (also shown in phantom) facing the center of the housing 12b. The Pentium II CPU 122 accordingly obstructs the heat exchanger 123 from the aperture 19 in the rear panel 15b. Moreover, to accommodate the Pentium II CPU 122, the power supply unit 40 is mounted apart from the motherboard 120 toward the top panel 17. As a result, a fan positioned on the power supply unit 40 or in the aperture 19 through the rear panel 15b may not adequately cool the Pentium II CPU 122 in the housing 12b. Computer manufacturers, therefore, typically need to redesign the component lay-out in the computers and/or provide new housings to implement the new Pentium II CPUs.
The cost of making new housings and/or redesigning the lay-out of components to accommodate the single-edge-contact Pentium II CPUs, however, may significantly impact the profitability of assembling computers with Pentium II processors. Moreover, it is equally difficult and expensive to upgrade an existing computer to accommodate a Pentium II processor. Therefore, implementing Pentium II CPUs in existing housings creates several challenges in custom computer manufacturing and other applications.